21 July 2010: “Lord, if you will ...”

Jesus confirmed his wonderful and austere teaching by miracles. The first was about the leper. As soon as the poor man saw Jesus from afar he was filled with hope. Fearless of a rebuff, he came, “begging him and kneeling down said to him, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean’” (Lk 5:12). Let us reflect on the qualities of this leper’s prayer --

It was made with profound respect and deep humility. On his knees he adored Jesus as the Ambassador and Son of God. Then he had an ardent faith in the omnipotence of Jesus, that he could cure the leprosy ‘if he so willed’. If it is pleasing to you, you can cure me.

If we made all our prayers with the same feelings, they would always be effective. In this second point let us focus our attention on the Person of Jesus. How did he receive the leper and answer his prayer?

Though pressed upon by the crowd, Jesus received him with great sweetness, without showing any impatience or disgust at the sight and smell of the leprosy. He listened gently to his prayer, and wrought a miracle.

“Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, ‘I will; be made clean’. Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.” (Mk 1:41-2)

This wonderful miracle greatly increased the faith of the multitude in the teaching of Jesus Christ; and it ought to be no less useful to us, especially when we compare our conduct with that of our Lord.

‘When someone comes to beg a service from me at a busy moment, especially if his appearance and manner are disagreeable, how do I receive and listen to him?Impatiently, crossly, or even harshly; putting him off to another time?’

We can easily imagine the joy and gratitude of the leper so suddenly cured. But Jesus warned him: “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a testimony to them.” (Mk 1:44) The leper, so overcome with joy forgot our Lord’s injunction.

Our Lord avoided rather than sought the praise and applause of men, so that God only might receive the glory. Like the leper, let us show our gratitude to Jesus Christ; and promote his knowledge and love.

Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp458-60

Lukewarmness: Salt that has lost its savour

Our Lord tells his disciples they are “the salt of the earth” (Mt 5:13). They do good to the world exactly what salt does to food, preserving or making it palatable. But salt can lose its savour or spoil; becomes useless.

Lukewarmness is a disease of the soul that affects both intellect and will; and leaves the Christian devoid of strength to carry out apostolate. The sickness starts with a weakening of the will as a result of repeated faults and culpable omissions; of frequently doing wrong and, probably worse, failing to do what is right.

The Christian no longer sees Christ in the horizon of his life. His interior life undergoes a profound change. Jesus is lost as the focal point of his life. Practices of piety become simply ‘going through the motions’, routinary or a force of habit, motivated by love no more.

St Thomas describes it as “a kind of sadness whereby a man becomes sluggish in spiritual exercises because they weary the body.” (“Summa Theologiae”, I, 63, 2) All norms of piety and devotion are a burden, increasingly hard to bear instead of being a powerful force to meet any difficulty.

Spiritual ‘aridity’ should not be confused with lukewarmness. In ‘aridity’, although the soul has no feeling and it seems difficult to pray, to carry on any real conversation with God, true devotion nevertheless remains. St Thomas has defined it as the “will to give oneself readily to things concerning the service of God”. (Ibid, op cit, II-II, 82, 1)

This ‘readiness’ grows weak if the will falls into a state of lukewarmness: “I have this against you”, says the Lord, “that you have abandoned this love you had at first” (Rev 2:4); you have weakened.

The determined person who keeps up his prayer even when all feeling is absent, is like one who draws water from a well, bucket by bucket -- one aspiration after another, an act of sorrow ... It is hard work and demands effort, but he draws out water.

The imagination strays and runs wild. Firm determination to dispel voluntary distractions is lost. Ultimately, prayer is abandoned with the excuse that no results are forthcoming.

Genuine conversation with God even if God allows it to be arid is always fruitful, whatever the circumstances, as long as there is rectitude of intention and a firm desire to be close to God.

Lukewarmness is sterile. Salt without savour “is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot”. (Mt 5:13) ‘Aridity’ can be the positive sign that God wants to purify a particular soul.

Let us confidently turn to the Blessed Virgin, the perfect model of loving correspondence with the Christian vocation. We beg her to remove from our soul any shadow of lukewarmness. Let us also ask our Guardian Angel to make us diligent in God’s service.

Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 3:541-7

The Miracle of Mercy

No human mercy can erase the mercy of God or prevent him from unleashing all his triumphant power, if we only call on him. Indeed, sin makes even more radiant the Father’s love. In order to ransom a slave, he sacrificed his Son: his mercy is our redemption.

This mercy reaches its fulness in the gift of the Spirit, who bestows new life and demands that it be lived. No matter how many and great the obstacles put in his way by human frailty and sin, the Spirit, who renews the face of the earth (cf Ps 104:30), makes possible the miracle of the perfect accomplishment of the good.

Ref: Pope John Paul II, “Breakfast with the Pope”, 1984, 32

Our Lady of Verdun, in Lorraine, celebrated for numerous miracles. St Polichraine, fifth Bishop of Verdun, dedicated this church on his return from the council of Chalcedon. — Archives of the Church of Verdun. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)

‘Notre Dame de Verdun’ / Our Lady of Verdun. Lorraine, France. 5th Century. Cathedral. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)